Google Music acknowledges device authorization problems, suspends limits while it looks for a fix

Google has responded to complaints about its decision to limit Google Music members to deauthorizing only four devices a year, a policy that caused problems for some Android users. In a statement, the company said that “we understand this has caused some issues for users who often deauthorize and reauthorize the same device, and we are currently re-implementing the solution in a way that works for users and our music partners.” For now, the four-device limit has been suspended — we were able to remove several without getting the error we previously found.

The statement also sheds some light on the policy, which took many by surprise. The change was made yesterday, limiting users to ten devices and allowing them four deauthorizations a year. This isn’t unusual for a music service, and Google states that the limits were added “at the request of some of our music partners.” For users who performed a factory restore or flashed a custom ROM, though, Google Music often recognized the same phone or tablet as multiple devices, meaning that a single one could potentially fill the entire ten-device limit. While we don’t have a timeframe for when Google might fix the duplication problem, it should no longer have repercussions for Google Music.